... History
The Little Debbie Brand Fuels Growth
 he Little Debbie brand of family pack snack cakes, named after Ellsworth’s oldest daughter, was introduced in 1960, and it grew rapidly. The building provided by the college seemed spacious in the beginning, but the McKees expanded it 13 times in the next few years.
 In 1967, with no space left to expand at that location, they bought farmland a quarter of a mile down the road and began construction on their second Collegedale plant. Plant 2 doubled in size in 1977, and they began to think about putting a plant farther west to help expand their sales to the western states. The Gentry, Arkansas, Plant opened in 1982. It has been expanded several times, most recently to add lines to produce Honey Buns and other yeast-raised breakfast pastries.
In 1990, the Stuarts Draft, Virginia,
plant began production to serve the northeast and Canada. This plant was built large with an eye toward future growth. In 1997, another plant was built in Collegedale on property adjoining the McKee Employees’ Recreation Center. The Apison Plant produces Honey Buns and Donut Sticks.
In 1996, the company added a distribution center in Kingman, Arizona, to deliver products to the western states.
In 1991, the company changed its
name to McKee Foods Corporation.
  
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